The first democratic debate, amply titled “The Main Event”, sounded like a wrestling match between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, and the ad hominem attacks and small jabs at each other make it seem like one.
Within the first 15 minutes, during which both parties agreed upon ‘uninterrupted’ speaking time, Trump began verbally assaulting Biden to the point that Chris Wallace, the moderator, cut in and asked Trump if he would like to switch seats. A president should be cordial under any circumstances, not chaotic. The American people and onlooking countries watching the debate saw the ugly in both candidates and watched democracy dissolve into petty insults.
Wallace begged Trump repeatedly throughout the 90 minutes to stop talking out of place, having to add 30 more seconds to Biden’s time because of egregious interruptions from Trump. Wallace said that “the country would be better served if we allow both people to speak with fewer interruptions. I’m appealing to you to do that.” Biden himself got fed up with the interruptions, saying “Shut up man.”, “This is so unpresidential.”, and “Keep yapping, man.” I found myself wondering why the opponent’s microphones weren’t cut off when it’s the appointed person’s turn to speak.
Trump did nothing to quell the public worry about the Coronavirus, mocking Biden for “wearing masks everywhere” and “wearing the biggest mask I’ve ever seen”. He also continued the xenophobia of calling the coronavirus the “China plague”, which is something the Yale School of Medicine has spoken out against. Biden, however, didn’t do much in terms of plans except saying he would fix the country’s economy after the virus is dealt with but did condemn Trump’s approach by saying to listeners, “you didn’t panic, he panicked.”
The debate took a turn for the worse after Biden called Trump “Putin’s puppy” and his son got brought up in the discussion, almost becoming one of the topics itself. Trump dragged Hunter Biden into the conversation by suggesting that he had some sort of under the table deal with Russia, a statement which has been discussed before and dismissed by all but Trump. Biden looked into the camera and said he’s proud of his son who has overcome his drug problems. Biden also didn’t appreciate Trump’s previous attacks on the military either, which his deceased son Beau served in, saying that “they are not losers, but patriots.”
The debate got worse for Trump specifically when he refused to denounce white supremacists and right-wing militia, something the federal government has determined the most serious terrorist threat facing our nation.
Wallace asked Trump “ to condemn white supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities as we saw in Kenosha and as we’ve seen in Portland. Are you prepared to specifically do that?”, to which Trump replied “Sure, I’m prepared to do that. But I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing. If you look, I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace.”
That “but” made me gasp; there should be no conditions to this simple request. He went on to say “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left. Because this is not a right-wing problem, this is a left-wing problem.” His statement doesn’t deter white supremacy in the slightest. It seemed as though he was just trying to put it on the back burner for now, but extremist groups still have the go ahead to terrorize people of color.
I’m scared for this nation. I’m scared for the democratic process and how polling will turn out on November 3 and possibly the weeks after while ballots are still collected. Once again, citizens approach the upcoming election with a “lesser of two evils” mindset and no one seems to win.